Maoists say police tracking leaders through Agnivesh letters

Maoists have indicated that they have not backed out of the talks but asked mediator Swami Agnivesh not to contact them through their channels alleging that police was tracking their leaders through the letters sent by him.

New Delhi: Maoists have indicated that they
have not backed out of the talks with the government but asked
mediator Swami Agnivesh not to contact them through their
channels alleging that police was tracking their leaders
through the letters sent by him.

In an "open letter" to Agnivesh dated August three, CPI
(Maoist) Central Committee member Srikant alias Sukant said
the two letters of Swami Agnivesh dated June 26 and July 22
have not reached the top leaders of the party, who are to take
a call on the offer.
Azad, who was killed in an encounter in early July, and
he himself had received the letters but could not pass it on
to their leaders, Sukant said in the letter.

He alleged that Agnivesh opening channels of
communication with Maoists for talks were used by police to
track Azad and later eliminate him.

Agnivesh had also gone public saying he felt that
authorities used his communication and channels to track Azad
after which he was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh.
He had also demanded a judicial probe into encounter in which
Azad and one Hem Chandra Pandey, a Delhi-based freelance
journalist, were killed.

Sukant also alleged that soon after Agnivesh`s July 22
letter reached him, the AP Special Intelligence Bureau also
reached him.
"Your letter dated 22nd July reached me. Not just the
letter. Something more too. The APSIB too reached me. How can
we understand this phenomenon? I just escaped very narrowly.
On August 1st," he claimed in the letter released to media.

Sukant said Maoists cannot afford to reply to Agnivesh`s
July 22 letter through some channels or send his letter to the
top leaders as opening up of any channel of communication
might end up in some loss and Maoists "can no more afford
that.

"I request you to openly publish your letters in the
papers," he said.

However, Sukant said Maoists "do not have any iota of
doubts in Agnivesh`s genuine feelings" regarding the peace
process.